1 USA Ultimate Board Minutes January 24-25, 2015 the Penrose
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USA Ultimate Board Minutes January 24‐25, 2015 The Penrose House, Colorado Springs, CO Saturday, January 24, 2015 President Mike Payne calls meeting to order 8:10 AM MT, Saturday January 24, 2015. Board Members Present In‐Person*: Mike Payne* – President, At‐Large (Appointed) Representative Kathy Hendrickson – Treasurer, Mid‐Atlantic Region Representative DeAnna Ball – Secretary, At‐Large Representative Henry Thorne – At‐Large Representative Stephen Hubbard – Southwest Region Representative Ness Fajardo* – Athlete Representative Brian Garcia* – Athlete Representative Val Belmonte – At‐Large (Independent) Representative Michael Eck – At‐Large (Independent) Representative Mary‐Clare Brennan – At‐Large (Appointed) Representative Josh Seamon – At‐Large Representative Board Members Present via Teleconference: Kevin Minderhout* – At‐Large Representative USA Ultimate Staff Present: Dr. Tom Crawford – CEO Julia Echterhoff Lee – Director, Finance and Development Ethan Taylor‐Pierce – Manager, Finance and Administration Will Deaver – Managing Director, Competition and Athlete Programs Ty Krajec – Manager, Competition and Athlete Programs (College) Byron Hicks – Manager, Events Mike Lovinguth – Manager, Education and Youth Programs Sarah Powers – Coordinator, Youth and Education Programs Conner Maloney – Manager, Competition and Athlete Programs (Youth) David Raflo – Manager, Events Ernest Toney – Manager, Competition and Athlete Programs (Club) Andy Lee – Director, Marketing and Communications Matthew Bourland – Manager, New Media Stacey Waldrup – Manager, Communications and Publication Melanie Byrd ‐ Director, Membership and Sport Development Rebecca Simeone – Manager, Membership and Sport Development 1 Ryan Gorman – Manager, Membership and Sport Development Josh Murphy – Manager, Membership and Sport Development Introduction Presented by Mike Payne and Tom Crawford New board members and new USA Ultimate staff were introduced and welcomed. Rob Rauch was introduced; President of the World Flying Disc Federation. Summary of the reception held January 23 was presented; two USOC guests presenting. Positive and encouraging feedback from the USOC. Board Member Responsibilities Presented by DeAnna Ball Reviewed the newly implemented Board Handbook. Reviewed Board use of Gmail accounts. Walked through Google Drive – to house shared files. Guest Speaker Kelly Skinner, Team Leader, Sport Performance at United States Olympic Committee How to be a good NGB “We’re glad/proud to have USA Ultimate HQ in Colorado Springs.” Congratulations about being recognized by USOC; brutal process. Olympic light is now looking at “you.” What is successful, where other NGBs have tripped; USOC wants USA Ultimate to succeed. 5 Pillars – Leadership, Planning, Consistency and Continuity, Service, Results LEADERSHIP Empowered professional staff is critical. Policy Board (active 100% of the time; closely associated with staff) sets strategy direction, raises funds to support the plan. Passion! – let go of where you came from; it’s about the greater good. The current group likely won’t be around when we become an Olympic sport. Volunteers are important. PLANNING 2 Top priority Four‐year rolling plans; can see the future, but know what needs to happen now. Long‐term thinking, short‐term horizon. o Adjustment time. o Time to celebrate. o Minimize the dust, move into action. USA Ultimate’s six‐year plan – 80‐90 things in total; form committees Accountability ‐ Pick the right people and the right staff to help. CONSISTENCY and CONTINUITY The shiny objects pillar. Temptation can derail progress. Don’t be rigid, but maintain discipline. SERVICE “Blessed are those who are flexible because they will never get out of shape.” Focus on doing things the right way. Set and communicate. RESULTS Organization must be outcome focus, but can’t be end goal. Sustaining growth is very challenging. Field of play results good; but when a sport becomes an Olympic sport, the rest of the world catches up. 2014 Financial Report Presented by Kathy Hendrickson Total income and expenses were very close to budget; this budget was administered very carefully for 2014. Audit and Ethics committee reviews the report closely. Membership revenue is around 60%; this is similar to other NGBs. One‐time event memberships at ‐18.7% is a good shift; more are becoming regular members. Overall membership increased 7.4%. In 2014 USA Ultimate invested funds in US Olympic Endowment’s pooled investment fund. USA Ultimate’s Reserve Policy requires at least 30% of that year’s budget be maintained in liquid investments; prepare for the unexpected. Operating Reserve for 2015 is larger due to 17% increase in budget. The Investment Working Group will create a written investment policy in 2015. 3 2015 Budget Adjustment Presented by Kathy Hendrickson Congratulations to USA Ultimate staff on a successful move to Colorado Springs. Expenditures were close to what was budgeted, but there were more expenses then originally budgeted in 2015 for the move, due to temporary housing costs that were not covered as expected. No further expenses will be incurred beyond the additional request. Requested 2015 budget adjustment ‐ $16,500. Josh Seamon moves to approve the 2105 budget adjustment. Henry Thorne seconds the motion. Motion passes with a vote of 12‐0‐0. CEO Update on 2014 Programs Presented by Tom Crawford Highlights Another great year, in terms of strategic plan. Acquired USOC membership, with their support as we drive to becoming an Olympic sport. Successful move to Colorado Springs, CO. Established and implemented the USA Ultimate Foundation. Over the last five years, we have doubled the staff and the budget. Our national teams have continued to have international success. We have seen double‐digit growth in our youth membership. YCC (USA Ultimate’s biggest event) participation up 40%. There are more high school teams than club teams. We have our own new technology platform. The relationship with ESPN relationship extended Girl’s Ultimate Movement (GUM) – inspiring US Open presentation. We are going to get more girls involved. Staff is working on completing operating manuals for greater efficiency. USA Ultimate has issued 48 equipment grants to help new teams. Membership Youth up 11%; Overall up 7%; Organization membership from 5 to 21% 4 Jewish Community Center (JCC) provided marketing to all 500+ JCCs in the US regarding our Organizational Membership, Learn to Play, and Equipment Grant programs. Boy Scouts of America (BSA) ‐ we are in preliminary talks with the “Scout Strong” initiative to include information about USA Ultimate on the BSA website, including the ability for their “Order of the Arrow” Honor scouts to access Learn to Play Kits to use in meetings & camps. Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) ‐ signed up for organizational memberships, and will deliver kits to 10 of their networks. Coach member growth is a strategic priority. While youth is trending up, goal is to retain youth members and transition them to college. Three new affiliate programs were added. Play it Forward: helped over 1000 kids in 2015 with financial support obtained from donations. Five‐phase approach for youth/high school; State “phasing” development structure provides roadmap for USAU and state organizers to understand where they are in their development, where they are headed, and the steps required to get there (e.g. events, staffing, outreach programs). Looking at new approaches to continue growing the college division. Need to grow youth and college to see significant growth for the club division. US National teams won 12 medals in Italy; USA Ultimate will continue to select teams to be the best in the world. Currently there are 63 Learn to Play programs across the country. Marketing & Communications CBS national news ran two features during the US Open, one airing on the CBS Evening News, and the other on CBS This Morning Retained Davis Sports Marketing. Approved multiple discs with Discraft. Revenue from the sales of official event merchandise up 12%. Broadcast 59 complete games with broadcast partners. 51% of viewers are watching men’s games over women’s games; 38% of viewers are watching mixed over women’s games. Broadcasts resulted in Four SportsCenter Top 10 clips: 2 in men, 2 in women. Administration & Finance Great new staff hired. USOC Endowment is a great opportunity to increase investment revenue. 5 Working Lunch: CEO overview of 2015 Operating Plan (Tom, Directors) Presented by Tom Crawford Membership & Sport Development Grow affiliate program while we build a more robust national infrastructure. Play It Forward Safe Sport Competition & Athlete Programs Continue growing youth; YCC is now a three‐day event. Revise coaching development to align with athlete development model. Integrate observer training into education programs structure. Shifting the timing of TCT; effort with the Competition Working Group and Athletes councils. The US Open is expanding. Working with WFDF SOTG at competitive events. Improving event quality; event manager certification program. Selection of US National coaches and teams. Marketing & Communications Beginning work on a mobile app. Expanding broadcast coverage. With early venue selection for big events, developing local sponsorship relationships. Assisting in positioning Ultimate for Olympics. Administrative & Finance Developing and providing resource materials for affiliates to help them become 501(c)(3) organizations.